In a stunning move, the Staten Island Republican Party's executive committee voted to nominate former Rep. Vito Fossella — who declined to run for reelection to his seat in N.Y. 13 after a DWI bust in 2008 exposed the married congressman’s second family — to run against Democratic incumbent Rep. Mike McMahon this fall.

The bizarre vote was the latest twist in a district that’s seen the original scandal halt Fossella’s reelection plans, the GOP’s original replacement for him die and the second replacement nearly get moved off the ballot for a judgeship — and that was all in one election cycle.

Party sources told POLITICO there were only four votes against the nomination, which was introduced by Staten Island GOP Chairman John Friscia, a close ally of Fossella's, even though the committee had just interviewed the two declared candidates, Michael Grimm and Michael Allegretti.

The shocking decision prompted an angry backlash from Grimm’s major booster, former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari, who was Fossella’s former political patron before the two had a falling out after the DWI scandal. Molinari pledged to make Fossella’s personal problems an issue in the campaign and accused the former legislator of using other people to fight his battles.

“This is typical Vito Fossella stuff — he hides in the background and everyone else does his dirty work,” said Molinari, saying there will be a “big fight” in a primary race if Fossella runs.

“I will be out there knocking his brains out” politically, Molinari added, saying that Grimm had been working hard, as had Allegretti, for months.

Several surprised Republicans, none of whom saw the vote coming, contacted POLITICO to describe the move, which was made before an executive committee crowd that included one of Fossella's sisters.

While it's not binding until the full Staten Island GOP votes next week, it's been standard practice for the larger party to follow the lead of the executive committee.

Whether the highly cautious Fossella actually throws his hat in the ring and accepts the nomination remains to be seen. But the vote, made by his close allies, makes it difficult for him to remain coy about his intentions in the coming days.

And he has yet to reach out personally to officials in the Conservative Party, a crucial third-party ballot line that he would very likely need to win in November — and one whose officials are leaning toward Grimm.

He also hasn’t contacted Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose reelection campaign Fossella helped in 2005 but who has since committed to McMahon, especially after the Democrat’s vote against President Obama’s health care reform legislation.

"Clearly there is a contingent among Republican Party leadership that wants to see Vito on the ballot," said City Councilman Vincent Ignizio, adding that it remained to be seen whether Fossella will accept and whether he would be boosted by Republicans countywide in November.

According to some sources close to Fossella, his real goal is to run in two years, and he’s doing this to blunt Grimm — whom he dislikes and whom he sees as a bigger threat in a general election against McMahon this year.

Either way, the move threw into chaos the nominating process among Republicans, especially since Fossella — who POLITICO first reported last week is again eying his old seat — has yet to publicly say what he's thinking.

The GOP’s other move at the executive committee was to delay an endorsement for a state Assembly seat, amid ongoing rumors that there’s been a push by Fossella allies to get Allegretti out of the congressional primary and shift him over to the local seat.

But Allegretti’s camp insisted that he’s not running for anything other than the McMahon seat. And Republicans in Brooklyn — which a swath of N.Y. 13 cuts across — voted to endorse Allegretti on Tuesday, putting out word of their backing amid the chaos over on Staten Island.

Several Republican insiders — both for and against Fossella — noted that the five-term congressman is close to Friscia and the GOP is stacked with his allies, and this couldn't have happened without knowledge. “People were astonished,” said one person who was at the meeting. Another said that several pro-Fossella committee members were contacted shortly before the meeting began and told how to vote.

Fossella couldn't be reached for comment. Friscia also couldn’t be reached.

Fossella was busted for drunken driving after a White House ceremonial event in 2008 while en route to see his mistress and their 4-year-old daughter. His secret soon hit the front pages of the New York tabloids, and he opted against reelection.

He was facing a possible House ethics investigation at the time stemming from the reports. The intensely private Fossella has said little about the scandal but is said to have been working on his relationship with his wife, Mary Pat, and their three kids.

Fossella's path would still be complicated if he ran — in addition to the almost-certain resurgence of the ethics outcry about his use of official House travel while courting his mistress and the fact that he'd still likely face a Republican primary, the Conservative Party doesn’t seem to be budging. While Staten Island conservatives haven't tipped their hand yet, Brooklyn's party has already endorsed Grimm — a decision that the state Conservative Party chairman, Mike Long, said he was comfortable with.

Brooklyn Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar showed no sign of backing down tonight, saying, "The Brooklyn Conservative Party has endorsed Michael Grimm and he's our candidate for Congress."

In a statement, Allegretti adviser Ray Riley said, “There are two declared candidates for this seat. Michael Allegretti is the only candidate in the race with a Republican Party endorsement and a real base of support. ... He will be on the ballot. He will be the nominee. He will be the next congressman for Staten Island and Brooklyn.”

McMahon’s camp put out a statement saying he’s “not concerned with the Republican Party’s latest antics; he’s busy doing his job for the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn.”

In 2008, the GOP tapped self-funding Frank Powers to run after Fossella opted against vying for a sixth term. But Powers, who was plagued by bizarre news stories about his adult son’s political disagreements with him, died of a heart attack months before the election.

The GOP then went with former Assemblyman Robert Straniere, who was nominated for a judgeship in Manhattan by Fossella allies — that kind of nomination is one of the only ways to get someone off the ballot. But Fossella wouldn’t publicly make a play to get back in the race, and Straniere stayed on the GOP line — and lost to McMahon.

While McMahon has had struggles with liberals and labor groups after voting no on health care reform, he appears poised to escape a tough primary challenge, and having Bloomberg committed to him is a major obstacle for Fossella.

Another obstacle is that Rudy Giuliani, who’s very popular on Staten Island, has backed Grimm.